Chapter 09 · Core Rules
Magic
A spell shapes mana into an effect: flame, an illusion, a transformed body, or a protective wall. Its entry gives its casting time, components, range, duration, and what happens when it is cast. Learning spells and increasing their power happen through study and experience during play.
Paths of Power
A caster's source supplies the mana used for spells. The Mana book explains these sources and their place in the world.
| Path | Users | Source and Properties |
|---|---|---|
| Red Mana | Humans | Produced by the body; abundant and constantly renewed, but difficult to stabilize |
| Divine Mana | Humans of the Ark and Clerics of Archon | Red mana harvested, stabilized, and supplied by the Partage |
| Blue Mana | Drows, Jax, monsters, Cerberan Psychics, and Monks of Kaz'Nakaram | Stable mana, normally cast without speech or gesture; produced by a body or Valerium, or converted from human red mana |
| Runes | Dwarves | Magic placed into objects; dwarves ordinarily cast no spells |
Components
Components are what a caster does to reach, every time, the state that releases a spell. They depend on the path, not on the spell.
| Path | Components |
|---|---|
| Arcane | Speech and gesture (V, S) |
| Alchemy | An ingredient (M), always; speech and gesture when the formula calls for them |
| Psychic | None: visualization alone |
| Divine | Speech alone (V) |
Arcane. The wizard visualizes, speaks, and moves hands and body together. That union of the senses and the body makes the state easier to reproduce, and the formula easier to remember. Speech and gesture are a help, not a law: a caster can drop either through metamagic, usually for more mana (see Metamagic below). Silence, bound hands, or a gag stop an arcane spell only because they take away what the caster relies on.
Alchemy. The ingredient carries most of the visualization. A simple preparation asks for little else; a complex one asks for everything at once: ingredients, the alchemist's blood, visualization, gesture, and speech. When an entry names no ingredient, the GM decides how hard it is to find; an alchemist carrying a stocked kit is assumed to have it.
Psychic. Visualization alone. Silence, bound hands, and armor do not prevent it. Blue mana is easier to use and more stable than red mana, but far less abundant.
Divine. The priest speaks the liturgy. The Partage supplies the rest.
Stabilizers are not components. Some effects need matter to hold their mana in place: an onyx or an emerald for the undead, gold for an enchantment, a resurrection diamond for a return to life. The spell's own text names the stabilizer, and every path must provide it. Likewise, a spell that works on an object—the wood it hardens, the ink it moves, the water of the Partage—needs that object, whatever the path.
What a formula asks for, it pays back. Among spells of the same path and level, a spell that demands more—more components, a longer casting—is stronger, and a spell cast in a single tick is weaker. A ritual is the far end of that scale: a Level 5 ritual can rival a Level 6 or 7 spell cast alone.
Spell Memory
Magic leaves traces. When a person enters a room, they shed a few particles of red mana. These particles absorb fragments of the place around them: images, sounds, and emotions. Spell effects leave denser traces of the same kind.
Spell memory is the memory held by these particles. Divination can explore it through spells that gather or read them. A rich trace can preserve an illusion in great detail; a weak one may offer only a face, a cry, or the fear that filled the room.
Blue mana leaves a narrower and cleaner memory. It preserves the shape, direction, and intention of the Psychic act itself, but little unrelated scenery from the place around it.
DC and Saving Throws
A spell's entry states which Save resists it. Mind-affecting spells generally use Will; poison, transformation, and other bodily effects generally use Fortitude. Direct damage is resolved under Resolving Offensive Spells below.
Spell DC = 10 + CL/2 + INT, plus bonuses.
Use the spell's or class's magic attribute when it specifies another. Roll the Save with the defender's class progression: full level for a good Save, half level for a standard Save. Round the final result down.
Against an illusion, the Save occurs automatically once the character can perceive it. The GM rolls once at the beginning of the day and reuses that value. Undead follow their own resistance rules.
Spell Slots, Spell Actions, and Caster Level
A caster tracks three values:
| Value | What It Measures | Where to Find It |
|---|---|---|
| Spell slots | The reserve available to cast spells, tracked separately at each spell level | The caster's source and class |
| Spell actions | How many spell tokens the caster can spend during a round | The class progression |
| Caster level (CL) | The power placed into a spell | The caster's source, class, and gains during play |
Spending and Recovering Slots
Spell slots measure both mana and the mental effort of shaping it. The human red-mana baseline is 4 slots per spell level + ½ CHA: with +6 Charisma, a caster has 7 slots at each spell level. Other sources and classes use their own formulas; see Character Creation and Progression. Monks of Kaz'Nakaram call the same unit a Ki point.
Casting a Level N spell spends a Level N slot. A higher-level slot can pay for a lower-level spell, losing the difference. When a spell or feat requires additional slots, each must also be at least the spell's level.
Spent slots return through constant regeneration, rest, or meditation, according to the source. Rest and Recovery gives the rates; Reserves and Recovery explains slots reserved for ongoing effects.
Spell tokens and Action Board slots govern the time spent casting. Use Reactive Combat to place the spell's casting ticks on the board.
Caster Level and Spell Level
Caster level determines a spell's damage, range, duration, and other quantities that scale with CL. Each spell gives its formulas.
Every character begins at CL 1. Human red mana adds 1 CL per 2 points of Charisma, rounded down. Sources and classes can change this progression, and the GM awards further increases through play; see Character Creation and Progression.
To cast a particular spell version, the character must have learned that version and meet its minimum CL:
| Spell Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum CL | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 30 |
A Wizard at CL 10 who has learned only Level 2 spells casts those spells at CL 10. They must study higher-level versions to use them.
When creating a Level N Wizard or Cleric, their history normally provides mastery through spell Level N. They still need the required CL, known spells, and slots. The GM can set lower mastery for a powerful but inexperienced or uneducated character.
High CL also strengthens abjuration. A caster whose CL greatly exceeds an opposing effect can dispel or counter it without understanding its construction. Magical objects can be deactivated or destroyed under Enchanting Magic Items.
Casting Time and Interruption
Most spells take two ticks. Use the casting time in the spell's entry; Quicken Spell can shorten eligible spells.
Damage taken during casting can break the spell:
| Mana | Damage That Interrupts Casting |
|---|---|
| Red or Divine | More than 25% of maximum HP |
| Blue | More than 35% of maximum HP |
Count the damage taken over the casting. If it exceeds the threshold, the spell fails and its slot and action are spent. Otherwise, casting continues.
A mage with 80 maximum HP can take 20 damage while casting and finish the spell. At 21 damage, it fails. Resolve a Reflex duel when the order of an attack and the spell's release matters.
Maintaining a Spell through Concentration
A concentration spell remains active while its caster devotes attention to it. After casting, the caster spends one spell token per round to maintain the spell. That token occupies one Action Board slot during a tick chosen by the caster; the other two ticks remain available. Maintenance spends no new spell slot.
If no tick is devoted to the spell before the round ends, concentration breaks and the spell ends. During the maintenance tick, damage can interrupt concentration like an incantation: taking more than 25% of maximum HP ends the maintenance and the spell. Use the blue threshold of 35% when the maintained spell is powered by blue mana.
Each maintained spell requires its own spell token. A character maintaining two spells must devote two ticks per round unless a feat or power says otherwise. A spell can impose another rhythm or become autonomous at a higher level; its text then takes precedence.
The spell states when a target can attempt another Save. At Level 2, Hold grants a Will Save each tick while the caster spends one tick per round maintaining it.
Resolving Offensive Spells
A direct damage spell allows no Save. The target can interrupt the casting, reach cover, or attempt a parry with suitable equipment. A successful parry blocks half the damage; DR then reduces what reaches the target.
The GM may allow a high-level character with exceptional Reflex a Reflex Save to leave an area's radius. Use the spell's own rules for any additional effects or Saves.
Metamagic
Metamagic feats change a spell during casting: they can shorten its casting time, extend its duration, or alter its delivery. Most cost additional spell slots, paid along with the spell's own slot.
| Feat | Additional slots | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Long Spell | +4 | The duration rises one category |
| Quicken Spell | +3 | A casting time of 2 or 3 ticks falls to 1 |
| Delay Spell | +1 | The effect lies dormant, then fires on its own |
| Form Cascade | +1 | A broken Polymorph form gives way to another |
| Overcast | Higher-level slot | +50% base damage per level of difference |
| Additional Target | — | A single-target spell reaches several |
| Suspend Spell | — | A finished spell is held, then released later |
| Efficient Spell | −1 | Close range falls to Touch |
Efficient Spell is the only discount. It applies once per casting, however many feats modify that casting, and never reduces the cost below the spell's own slot.
Removing speech or gesture from an Arcane or Alchemy spell has no feat of its own. When a caster finds a way to do it, the GM prices it as metamagic: the spell becomes more complex, and therefore more expensive in slots. An alchemist who replaces an ingredient follows the same principle. Quicken Spell removes nothing: the caster performs every component, faster.
Meta-Spells
A meta-spell is a learned spell whose formula transforms, contains, or gives a new shape to another known spell. That other spell is called the source spell. For example, Elemental Wall turns elemental magic into a lasting wall, while Spell Trap holds a spell until its trigger occurs.
Learn a meta-spell like any other spell. Its entry states which source spells qualify, which levels they may have, and which spell slots are spent or committed. Unless the entry says otherwise, a meta-spell borrows only the parts of the source spell that it explicitly names.
Cooperative Casting
Several casters can cast one spell together. This is cooperative casting, or a ritual when extended over hours. One caster leads—the primary caster—while the others lend power.
The primary caster supplies the spell, its slot, components, and Intelligence. Helpers add caster level. Calculate the spell's DC with the combined CL and the primary caster's Intelligence.
Each helper must be within 5 CL or 20% of the primary caster's CL, whichever allows the larger gap. Round the percentage down. A CL 20 caster can accept a CL 15 helper; a CL 50 caster can accept a CL 40 helper.
Each helper adds 3 ticks to casting time, or 1 tick with Cooperative Caster. The primary caster pays the spell's slot; helpers spend time and remain vulnerable throughout casting.
A helper's contribution depends on their own caster level. Each value holds until the next threshold:
| Helper's CL | Contribution |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | +1 CL |
| 5 to 19 | +2 CL |
| 20 to 24 | +3 CL |
| 25 to 29 | +4 CL |
| 30 or higher | +5 CL, then +1 CL per interval of 5 |
The total contribution is capped at 50% of the primary caster's CL. A CL 20 caster can reach at most CL 30 through cooperation.
The primary caster must already be able to cast the spell alone. Use their own CL to check the minimum spell-level requirement before adding contributions.
If damage interrupts a helper, remove their contribution and continue at the reduced CL. If it interrupts the primary caster, the spell fails and the slot is lost. Use the interruption threshold for the mana being cast.
Example. Gérard casts Dominate at CL 20, INT +9, with helpers at CL 15 and CL 20. They contribute +2 and +3 CL, giving CL 25 and DC 31: 10 + 25/2 + 9, rounded down. The Standard spell takes 8 ticks: 2 for the spell, plus 3 per helper.
Alchemy
An alchemist mixes their blood with ingredients to prepare magical solutions. Alchemy provides healing that red magic handles poorly and effects made possible by the ingredients. An unstable preparation must be used immediately or lose its magic.
Casting through Alchemy
An alchemist prepares a spell by mixing its ingredients with their blood. Its entry names the ingredients, and the speech or gestures the formula needs (see Components above).
The casting time includes preparing and delivering the solution. A Standard Alchemy spell takes 2 ticks to prepare and drink, apply, or throw. Delivery occurs on the final casting tick, with no additional general action. If the solution is not delivered immediately, the spell is lost.
Quicken Spell can reduce that whole process to 1 tick. The casting can still be interrupted during that tick.
A potion stabilized through a long crafting ritual can be kept for later. Drinking or applying it takes a 1-tick general action. Quicken Spell affects live casting, not the use of a stored potion.
Gold stabilizes red and divine magic by preventing its particles from escaping. Use Enchanting Magic Items to preserve a potion or bind a spell into an object.
Crafting a Preparation
A known recipe, clean ingredients, enough time, and a suitable laboratory can make preparation certain. Otherwise, the GM prescribes the chance of success based on the alchemist's experience and Intelligence, knowledge of the recipe, ingredients, equipment, time, and working conditions.
An Alchemist's Kit, Master Alchemist's Kit, or Portable Alchemical Laboratory changes those conditions. A preparation may be risky with a traveling kit and routine in a laboratory.
Before rolling, the GM announces what failure risks: lost ingredients, fewer doses, an unstable preparation, accidental exposure, or wasted time.
Learning Magic
Learning a new spell typically takes one month of study during play. The GM should shorten or lengthen this time according to the spell's complexity, the caster's experience, and the available books or instruction. Gaining a character level does not teach spells automatically.
A Level 8 caster learning a Level 2 spell may need only a week or a few days, especially with a grimoire explaining the formula. Learning a higher-level version of a familiar spell also benefits from what the caster already understands.
Developing a new spell requires research and experimentation. For a Level 10 caster inventing an epic spell, even a full year may be a generous estimate of how quickly the work can be done. Archon readily spends 10–30 years developing a new epic spell. The GM sets a duration that fits the work, from a few days spent learning a familiar technique to decades spent creating something unprecedented.
There is no maximum number of known spells. A caster's repertoire grows with the time, means, and opportunities available to study.
A divine spell with an existing formula is generally learned faster than an arcane one. Its liturgy is stable, recorded, and designed for reproduction. Converting an arcane spell into a divine spell is considerable work: the formula must be redesigned for the mana of the Partage, stabilized, and transmitted. This research can take months or years.
Chapter Summary
- A spell's entry gives its effect, components, casting time, range, and duration.
- Spell slots track the reserve; spell tokens govern casting during a round; CL determines power. Their values depend on the caster's source and class.
- Spell DC = 10 + CL/2 + INT, unless another magic attribute is specified. The defender uses their class's Save progression.
- Casting requires knowledge of the spell version and its minimum CL.
- Damage exceeding 25% of maximum HP during casting interrupts red or divine magic; blue magic uses 35%.
- Damage spells allow no Save by default. Cover, interruption, and parrying can protect the target; DR reduces the damage that gets through.
- Cooperation adds CL and casting time. The primary caster must already be able to cast the spell alone.
- Learning a spell typically takes one month of study. The GM adjusts this to the spell, the caster's experience, and available instruction. Inventing a new spell can take years, especially at epic levels.